change and challenge for the church in New Zealand Aotearoa

Let’s talk about discontent. You know all about discontent right? I know you feel it too. I know that you have that feeling of restless dissatisfaction, that sense of burning grievance. Perhaps like me you have that feeling every time you read an article that finds another way to silence women. Another article that encourages women not to trust themselves, that focuses again on their inadequacies. Discontent is that sense of annoyance that you feel when something so crucial as discontent is dismissed as only the work of Satan. Therefore it must be suppressed with more bible reading and prayer. It’s that sense of welling frustration when articles targeting women stereotype them as superficial and concerned with appearances. Discontent is that disquiet that lodges in your gut when women’s prophetic ability and engagement is once more overlooked.

Let's talk about your discontent, lets talk about that discontent that you know is a prompt from the Holy Spirit. A prompt that the spirit uses to get your attention, to show you when something is wrong. A sign that it is time for you to grow, time for you to move, time for you to step up and challenge the status quo. You know this discontent deep in your heart.

Do you know discontent as the Holy Spirit’s call to use your prophetic gifts?

The Spirit uses it to nudge you to speak up, to point out the ways that the current order is wrong. The discontent shows you new directions, new solutions, new ways of pointing people to living as God’s people.

Let’s talk about your discontent with those closest to you, perhaps this is the hardest one for you to process. You know what I mean, that grumpy discontent that comes out as frustration, and impatience. Let's talk about the way that you live in a society where Kingdom values aren’t predominant. The way that the power and monetary structures of society impact on even your most intimate family interactions and relationships. This discontent may mean that the way things are organised in your family need to change because it isn’t healthy for you, or enabling you to live out your spiritual gifts. Fortunately God has another gift for you, his discontent is not given in isolation. He has also given you the gift of discernment, this will help you understand what your discontent is signalling. What is it that needs to change? Are you depressed and need medical and counseling assistance? Do you need to make changes in your family life so that you are able to make radical kingdom choices in your daily life.

Let’s talk about discontent and share it with our friends. Let’s not be scared that sharing our discontent will lead to envy and broken friendships. God has given us relationships to assist us in the discernment process, to help us learn and hone our prophetic challenges, to work together to bring Kingdom values to all of life.

Discussing our discontent with our friends helps us to identify what needs to change in our society and how we can work together to bring about that change.

It helps us, develop our voice to speak out about our discontent, to show how things are failing, and where they need to change. Discontent shared is much more likely to be discontent that leads to healthy prophetic engagement than discontent dismissed as the work of Satan, and hidden or suppressed.

Let’s talk about discontent, lets talk about the discontent of the prophets of the Old Testament, who saw all the ways that the people and their faith leaders were wandering from the ways of God. The discontent that led them to hear God and share God’s message to call back his people to journeying closer to himself. Let’s talk about the discontent of the Greek speakers in Acts 6, the discontent they had when their widows and orphans were being unfairly treated. It was their discontent that led them to present their case to the Apostles and led to positive action to remedy the situation. Without shared discontent the Seven would not have been called to leadership. Let's talk about the discontent that raged inside Martin Luther when he saw the corruption in the church and the barriers between God and his people that the church was creating. The discontent that eventually led to the reformation. The Holy Spirit’s gift of discontent leads to positive change for all if it is acted upon.

Talk about your discontent, don’t dismiss it as the work of Satan, you have the discernment to see how the Holy Spirit is using your discontent to call you to growth, to change and to activism. To bring Holy Spirit led change into every area in which you have influence.

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